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Vitriol in American Political Life

Sheriff Dupnik of Pima County warned of the dangers of vitriol and bigotry in political discourse. The Sheriff suggested that vitriolic speech and bigotry are the cause of the shootings in Tucson. “Bigotry” is defined as a stubborn intolerance to any race or religion. The Tea Party or established Republicans have not voiced bigotry. Some of the liberal media have joined in warning of the dangerous conservative media. Secretary Clinton appears to have hit the high mark for outrageous commentary. She could not wait to get off her plane in Abu Dhabi and announce that America has extremist violence just like her host country. She equated the attack on Gabrielle Giffords and her supporters by one apparently psychotic individual with an elaborately planned attack air attack which was cheered by thousands if not millions of foreigners.

As far as vitriol, Democrats savaged George W. Bush for his policies on the Iraq War and other matters. Andrew Young accused “Korean, Arab, and Jewish” convenience store proprietors or exploiting African American customers. Convenience store clerk is one of the most dangerous occupations. Convenience store clerks are routinely shot or assaulted in Atlanta. (Young is the former mayor.)

Vitriol is not a bad thing. Keith Olbermann engaged in a shrill criticism of George W. Bush and the Iraq war. Were his angry remarks heard by persons who yearned to kill the president? Undoubtedly. Had any of these individuals got off a shot at the president does this mean his critics should be silenced? Of course not. In the case of Jared Loughner, it appears he is a garden variety schizophrenic. That is what his Internet ramblings and his friend’s comments indicate. It may be that he does not know the Tea Party from a coffee party. His behavior was reported to the Sheriff’s Office. The tragedy is that he was not held for evaluation.

Illegal aliens are a major issue in America. The anti – illegal alien camp should present their case effectively. If this involves vitriol, so be it. The political discourse should be about accurate data presented with any tone. There is nothing in the constitution that disallows rancor.

A Few Data Points

The Schools

Heather MacDonald has written on the Tucson public schools. Affirmative Action has been expanded to include discipline. There is a discipline quota. Hispanics, African Americans, and Whites must have the disciplinary actions that correspond to their numbers. I couldn’t make this stuff up. That is all one needs to know to conclude as in most American cities, many of the Tucson public schools are not suitable for the middle class.

Ms. MacDonald has also argued for a immigration policy which provides for the needs of the American economy – one similar to Australia.

Medicare

Renal failure is covered by Medicare. Many patients with renal failure are Spanish only speakers. It appears they are in the country on a family reunification program. That is the sort of thing that George W. Bush failed to recognize when he opined that illegals “do the jobs Americans won’t do”.